Jewelry Stone Setting Intensive

Monday, July 1, 2019 - Friday, July 12, 201910:00 AM - 5:00 PM

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Cost: $1,745.00

Join us for 2 weeks of fabrication techniques. Students will learn how to fabricate settings, starting with different types of bezel settings, moving on to prong settings, flush, tube and tab settings.

Each setting introduced builds skills for addressing solutions for setting stones and the fabrication tips necessary to make and use them in jewelry. Students will learn the settings, and then they can fabricate their own jewelry designs using those settings during class.

Class is held Monday - Friday for 2 weeks, with weekends off. An intensive like this offers the chance for you to focus and build skills day by day, allowing you to leap ahead quickly in you jewelry training.

Bezel setting is the queen of stone setting. The first lessons learned making a bezel setting are the foundation for all other settings. We start with thin, push over bezels, as a ring or pendant. Then we will create a open bezel, that only follows the rim of a two sided stone. This bezel displays both sides of your stone. Next we will make thicker bezels, and set them with a hammer and punch, creating a rich, strong bezel design. And finally, we will use the bezel as a decorative centerpiece for design options, changing it into undulating scalloped lines, removing sections of bezel, and even making the bezel look like city buildings. We’ll also address setting stones with points or corners, like square or pear shaped cabochons.

Prongs and tabs. When you strip a bezel down to just a few essential points, you have a prong setting. We’ll start by using the flexible nature of prongs to capture found objects and rough top stones. Then we’ll make pedestal prong settings, to hold our stones in a crown of prongs. In a similar vein, students will learn how to create tab settings to hold stones with just cold connections - without any soldering.

Tube and Flush Settings. These settings use burs to create seats for your stones, and are especially useful for small faceted gemstones. They make great accent settings, but can also steal center stage in your designs. Tube settings are made from tubing and are like miniature bezels. Flush settings are burred into your metal, leaving a crisp, minimalist setting that can be paired with modern motifs or contrast organic designs.